Author Archives: Kristin

Sneak Peek Wednesday: Stolen by Marlena Frank (Giveaway)

23 January, 2019 12:33 am , 2 Comments ,

Stolen
(Stolen #1)
by Marlena Frank
Publisher: The Parliament House
Publication date: Jan. 22, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

It’s difficult taking care of a delusional father by yourself. Sixteen-year-old Shaleigh Mallet would rather explore and photograph dilapidated buildings than cater to her father’s dark episodes. But when she’s kidnapped by a creature who carries her atop a flying bicycle into another world, she realizes this wasn’t the escape she wanted.

In a kingdom known as the Garden, where minotaurs pull carriages and parties are held in hot air balloons, Madam Cloom and her faerie servant, Teagan, rule over the land with incredible but terrifying magic. Shaleigh must prove that she is the reincarnation of a long-dead ruler, not because she believes it, but because it’s her only chance to survive. With the help of a trespassing faerie, a stoatling, and a living statue, Shaleigh hopes to outwit everyone. She aims to break the bonds of servitude and finally make her way home. What she doesn’t realize, however, is that she’s playing right into the hands of a far worse enemy…

 

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Posted in: Excerpt, YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: Rough Terrain by Annabeth Albert

18 January, 2019 12:51 am , 3 Comments ,

Rough Terrain
(Out of Uniform #7)
by Annabeth Albert
Publisher: Carina Press
Publisher Date: Jan. 14, 2019
Genre: M/M Romance
Rating:

The camping trip from hell may be the first stop on the road to happily-ever-after.

Navy SEAL Renzo Bianchi has a soft spot for Canaan Finley, and not only because the man makes a mean smoothie. He’s the first guy to get Renzo’s motor revving in a long time. But when he agrees to Canaan’s insane charade—one all-access fake boyfriend, coming right up—he never expects more than a fling.

Creating a hot Italian SEAL boyfriend to save face seemed like a good idea…until his friends called Canaan’s bluff. Now he’s setting off into the woods with the very man who inspired his deception, and Canaan is not the outdoorsy type. The sparks are already flying when a flash flood separates them from their group, leaving Renzo and Canaan very much trapped…very much alone in the wilderness.

Working together to come up with a plan for survival is sexier than either of them expects. But back in the real world, being a couple is bringing its own set of hazards…

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: Twisted Palace by Erin Watt

14 January, 2019 12:26 am , 3 Comments ,

Twisted Palace
(The Royals #3)
by Erin Watt
Publisher: Timeout LLC
Publication date: Oct. 17, 2016
Genre: New Adult Romance
Rating:

These Royals will ruin you…

From mortal enemies to unexpected allies, two teenagers try to protect everything that matters most.

Ella Harper has met every challenge that life has thrown her way. She’s tough, resilient, and willing to do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves, but the challenge of a long-lost father and a boyfriend whose life is on the line might be too much for even Ella to overcome.

Reed Royal has a quick temper and even faster fists. But his tendency to meet every obstacle with violence has finally caught up with him. If he wants to save himself and the girl he loves, he’ll need to rise above his tortured past and tarnished reputation.

No one believes Ella can survive the Royals. Everyone is sure Reed will destroy them all.
They may be right.

With everything and everyone conspiring to keep them apart, Ella and Reed must find a way to beat the law, save their families, and unravel all the secrets in their Twisted Palace.

 

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Posted in: NA Romance , Tagged:

Review: Lead by Kylie Scott

11 January, 2019 12:11 am , 6 Comments ,

Lead
(Stage Dive #3)
by Kylie Scott
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication date: Nov. 25, 2014
Genre: Romance
Rating:

As the lead singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, whether it’s booze, drugs, or women. However, when a PR disaster serves as a wake-up call about his life and lands him in rehab, he finds himself with Lena, a new assistant to keep him out of trouble.

Lena’s not willing to take any crap from the sexy rocker and is determined to keep their relationship completely professional, despite their sizzling chemistry. But when Jimmy pushes her too far and Lena leaves, he realizes that he may just have lost the best thing that ever happened to him.

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

Sneak Peek Wednesday: To Dream Is To Die by Sarah Lampkin (Giveaway)

9 January, 2019 8:28 am , 5 Comments ,

To Dream Is To Die
by Sarah Lampkin
Publisher: The Parliament House
Publication date: Jan. 8, 2018
Genre: New Adult Paranormal

Eighteen-year-old Brenna Whit is entering college as a freshman and starting to meet new people, but she hides a dark secret. Because of an accident that happened three years ago, her spirit wanders the Fade whenever she falls asleep. It’s something she wants to keep hidden from the world, but when she sees someone watching her in spirit form, she fears the secret’s out. With new friends, possibly new enemies, school, and a new crush, Brenna has too much to worry about for just her freshman year of college.

 

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Posted in: Uncategorized , Tagged:

Review: Bound For Temptation by Tess LeSue

7 January, 2019 12:37 am , 6 Comments ,

Bound for Temptation
(Frontiers of the Heart #3)
by Tess LeSue
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Publication date: Dec. 31, 2018
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating:

From the author of Bound for Sin comes a new historical Western romance that tests life and love on the Oregon Trail.

Emma Palmer’s been a lady of the night and a gambler, a thief and a blackmailer, a liar and a peddler of sin. But mostly a lady of the night. She’s spent most of her life as the hard-as-nails, smart-talking ‘Seline’, working her way across the country to the goldfields of California, where she can finally ply her trade on her own terms. And she’s a darn good Madam, if she does say so herself. Her place is clean, her booze is cheap, and her bedrooms are fancy. But when a would-be patron won’t take no for an answer, she’s forced to fight for her life and run. And what better disguise than as a nun?

Tom Slater is a taciturn cattleman at the tail end of a long, hard season on the trail. He plans to have a quiet winter at his old family homestead in Mexico. What he doesn’t plan on is finding a foul-mouthed nun stranded in the middle of nowhere. She has sly green eyes and a way of looking at him that turns his head upside down. Tom doesn’t need to be trailsman to know that this woman will only lead to trouble.

 

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Posted in: historical romance

You were a crazy year, 2018!

2 January, 2019 11:04 am , 9 Comments ,

I can’t believe the year is already over. So much happened in 2018 that I feel like it went by really fast. This year included one of the toughest moves, mainly because it took us months to find a house. It was a very bittersweet move, too. I was sad to leave my old neighborhood because I had some pretty awesome neighbors who all pooled together to help me look for my tortoise when she busted out of her enclosure like the Kool aid man last December. Plus, the location was pretty awesome since I was far enough away from downtown to not have to deal with the chaotic traffic, but close enough that I could zip on down for lunch if I wanted to. However, I was also glad to leave and move to the Joshua Tree area because this place is familiar to me, I’ve spent almost half my life here. Due to the Mister’s job, we move around quite a bit, but we somehow always manage to end up back in this location. So, while San Diego was great, I didn’t really have any friends, a job, or a sense of purpose down there. However, here I have a great group of friends, and I pretty much immediately got my job back at the national park. So, yeah… bittersweet.

Obviously, once I got my job back, life picked up for me and I found myself being a bit more busy that I’ve been used to. I will admit that my presence on social media and the blog have slowed way down because I suck at managing time. When I get time off from work, I just want to veg out on the couch and read. So, I am hoping that with this new year I can get better about setting time aside for the blog and reconnecting with you guys again. I don’t know what the new year will bring, but I wish you all the very best and I hope that 2019 is a good one.

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Posted in: meme

I’d say it was fun, December, but then I’d be lying.

31 December, 2018 11:39 am , 7 Comments ,


I’m linking this post to Sunday Post, Stacking the Shelves, and It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

Is it already the end of the year?! Holy cow did December fly by.

Well, this month was a whirlwind. I scrambled to get gifts out in the mail in advance. Since there’s only one post office for my town, it gets swamped around this time of year. A dog that I had fostered back in November and who was adopted right before Thanksgiving, wound up being returned. So, she came back to stay with us while she waited for her forever family. I honestly thought we’d have her for Christmas since she was returned right before the holidays, but she found a forever home right before Christmas. She was a sweetheart and I’m sad that she’s gone, but glad that she has finally found a loving home. I also wound up getting the flu the week before Christmas. I don’t think I will ever complain about a simple cold with sniffles again. Right as I was starting to feel better, the government shut down, which meant I was furloughed until further notice. The first couple of days were nice because I still needed to rest up and recover from the flu, but now I’m getting a little stir crazy. Like I said, this month was pretty intense. I’m hoping that next month is a little less chaotic.

 

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Posted in: meme

Review: Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews

28 December, 2018 8:20 am , 2 Comments ,

Alphas: Origins
(Alphas 0.5)
by Ilona Andrews
Publisher: Intermix
Publication date: April 19, 2016
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:

Karina Tucker is driving a van of children home from a field trip when an unplanned detour to a seemingly ordinary rest stop changes her life. There, she witnesses a world beyond humanity’s sight, of frightful powers and chaos, where she is in death’s grip… before an irresistibly dangerous male saves her—only to take her captive.

For she is a rare commodity in the shadowy realm she’s entered.

Karina soon finds herself caught in a violent civil war where those with inhuman powers strive to destroy each other without mercy. And it becomes all too clear that she must make a choice: submit and become a pawn, or take hold of her own destiny and fight for survival against impossible odds.

 

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Posted in: Urban Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life by Rachel Cohn

21 December, 2018 7:51 am , 7 Comments ,

My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life
by Rachel Cohn
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication date: Dec. 18, 2018
Genre: Young Adult
Rating:

In the Land of the Rising Sun, where high culture meets high kitsch, and fashion and technology are at the forefront of the First World’s future, the foreign-born teen elite attend ICS-the International Collegiate School of Tokyo. Their accents are fluid. Their homes are ridiculously posh. Their sports games often involve a (private) plane trip to another country. They miss school because of jet lag and visa issues. When they get in trouble, they seek diplomatic immunity.

Enter foster-kid-out-of-water Elle Zoellner, who, on her sixteenth birthday discovers that her long-lost father, Kenji Takahari, is actually a Japanese hotel mogul and wants her to come live with him. Um, yes, please! Elle jets off first class from Washington D.C. to Tokyo, which seems like a dream come true. Until she meets her enigmatic father, her way-too-fab aunt, and her hyper-critical grandmother, who seems to wish Elle didn’t exist. In an effort to please her new family, Elle falls in with the Ex-Brats, a troupe of uber-cool international kids who spend money like it’s air. But when she starts to crush on a boy named Ryuu, who’s frozen out by the Brats and despised by her new family, her already tenuous living situation just might implode.

My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life is about learning what it is to be a family, and finding the inner strength to be yourself, even in the most extreme circumstances.

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary , Tagged: ,